User:MandarinChinese/CAIS Institute

CAIS Institute
CAIS Institute (Chinese：中美教学中心), a non-profit organization located in San Francisco, was founded in 1989 to advocate Chinese language and culture education in the United States. CAIS Institute draws on the Chinese American International School (CAIS), the United States’ first Mandarin-English immersion school, and provides educators with comprehensive approaches to teaching, acquiring, and enhancing Chinese language and cultural literacy.

Mission
CAIS Institute is dedicated to advancing Chinese language and culture by:
 * Increasing Mandarin proficiency programs
 * Preparing Chinese teachers for American classrooms
 * Providing resources and connecting educators

Vision
CAIS Institute will expand its role in:
 * The development and execution of programming that will create, through the promotion of fluency in Mandarin, a more able and culturally aware work force
 * Leading the effort to minimize the national shortage of credentialed Chinese language teachers
 * Becoming the unparalleled resource for the growth and development of Chinese programs

History
The CAIS Institute was founded in 1989 as The Institute for the Teaching of Chinese Language and Culture by the Board of Trustees of San Francisco’s Chinese American International School (CAIS).

The school opened its doors in 1981 to pioneer Chinese (Mandarin) immersion education. During its early years, it faced a lack of available curricula, unfamiliarity with Chinese in the marketplace, and the absence of a formal pedagogy related to Chinese language immersion. One world-renowned expert visited the school and stated that Chinese/English immersion education was impossible. CAIS and The CAIS Institute have proven it is possible indeed.

A far-sighted member of the school’s Board saw the need for an institute to raise funds not readily available to an elementary school. The institute would do so and use those funds to create and publish English and Chinese curricula for pre-collegiate education as well as train Chinese teachers for American and international schools. It would also create and manage student and teacher exchange programs while promoting and performing research on inter-language and cross-cultural education issues.

In 1995, The Freeman Foundation became the Institute’s principal benefactor.

Alliances and Partnerships
Because successful Chinese language and culture education requires the integration of many disciplines and experiences, The CAIS Institute maintains alliances and partnerships with organizations at the forefront of these efforts. They include: Asia Society; Berkeley China Initiative; California State University, Los Angeles; China Institute.